A New Life
by brilliant-author
Summary: A prophecy was made against Charlene over a hundred years ago and now she must find the clues to recover the prophecy and stop it before the prophecy comes true and she dies. Will Harry and the others be able to help save her before her time's up?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books, but I do own all the new characters. I also don't own the plot since it's Harry Potter with a National Treasure type twist, but all the clues and poems and stuff were thought of by me.

**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoy the story. I am very pleased and excited about it. Feedback would be nice!

* * *

Charlene Smithers sat there on the train. She was heading to a place she never wanted to be and about to see the grandfather she never wanted to have. She was going into a world she thought she would never have to enter again only to find that if she didn't enter this world and figure out a prophecy made against her she would die before she reached the age of 18.

Charlene lived in New York and partially ran her parent's business since they were now dead. They died when she was very young, but now that she was seventeen she started to learn more and more every day about the business life and how to run it. She was left with the business and her parent's fortune when they died.

She lived with her colleague and best friend, Eric. He was nineteen and very successful. He was like a big brother to her, and the only family that Charlene admitted to having. She had a godfather, but she never saw him. Yes, he tried to see her, but she blamed him for her parent's deaths and never forgave him. She remembers it clearly as if it just happened yesterday…

"Mom?" An eight year old Charlene begged her mom. "Please don't go. Tomorrow's Christmas. You can't leave now."

"_We'll be back soon, sweetie. Your father and I will be back tonight to tuck you into bed." Her mother reassured her._

"_She's right, munchkin." Her father said chuckling at the face his daughter was giving him at that moment for saying the nickname she detested because according to her she'd 'grown at least an inch' in the past month._

"_But I want you guys here." Charlene said with the saddest expression she could make at the moment._

"_Don't worry. John will be here with you." Her mother said._

"_Really?" Charlene asked. She loved her Uncle John, who really wasn't her uncle, but her father's best friend._

"_Yep!" John said entering the room. "I thought we could go sledding then loads of other stuff. How does that sound?"_

_Pleased at the sudden offer Charlene jumped up and down and hugged her parents goodbye._

"_Oh, so now you're okay with us leaving?" Her father said jokingly._

"_Come on, Greg. We have to go or we'll miss the flight." Her mother said looking at her watch._

"_Sasha, it's our own plane. They're not going to leave without us." Charlene's father said picking up his luggage and giving them to the chauffeur._

"_Yes, but the other business employees will be on the plane and I'd hate to keep them waiting." Sasha pleaded._

"_Oh, go on you two. I've got this whole thing under control. But before you go can I have a word with you?" He asked, then looked back at Charlene and added "Alone."_

"_Fine. I'm going now." Charlene said then marched up the stairs towards her room, but turned around when she heard voices downstairs._

"_You shouldn't go. What if the threats are true? He said he'd get you on a plane on a snowy winter night. That has to be tonight. You shouldn't risk it. Just call off the meeting." John pleaded with his two best friends._

"_Trust me, John. We'll be fine." Greg said patting his friend on the back as a reassurance._

"_He's right, John. Surely Voldemort wouldn't try something with Muggles all around." Sasha said._

"_I wouldn't be too sure of that, Sasha." John said._

"_We'll be fine. Just keep an eye on her, okay? We'll be home later tonight." Sasha said then grabbed her purse and headed out the door._

_Greg turned to look at his best friend. "Look, if anything does happen to us you have to promise to look after Charlene, okay? Make sure she grows up and has a happy life."_

"_I promise." John said, hoping that day would never come true. _

Oh, she remembered it only too clearly. Tears came into her eyes just thinking about it. That was the last time she saw her parents…alive.

Charlene looked out the window. It was dark and storming. She looked across at Eric who was also looking out the window. Their eyes met and Eric gave her an encouraging smile before looking back out.

Eric had promised he would come with Charlene and help her any way he could. He said he would do anything to make sure he didn't lose her. Only a few days ago he promised to help her and stand by her, even to death…

Eric walked inside Charlene's bedroom. He heard strange noises and wanted to see what was happening. "What's going on?" he asked confused.

Charlene had a suitcase on her bed and clothes were everywhere. "I'm packing."

"Why?"

"I have to go away for awhile. Don't worry, though, I'll be back soon."

"Charlene, where are you going?" Eric walked over and got closer to her. "Tell me."

"It's nothing. Really." Charlene said while folding a pair of jeans and putting them in the suitcase.

"It's about the prophecy, isn't it?"

Charlene looked up at him so fast that she could have easily broken her neck. "Who told you about that?" She asked shocked.

"Your grandfather owled me a few days ago telling me everything, guessing that you hadn't told me yourself. And he's a pretty darn good guesser because you haven't told me about your grandfather OR the prophecy."

"It's not that big of a deal. I'll be gone and back so fast you wouldn't know I was gone." Charlene said now putting more clothes into her suitcase.

"Yes it is. If you don't find this stuff out, whatever it is, you could die." Eric said now sitting down on the bed.

"I'll find it, don't worry."

"I want to come with you."

"No." Charlene said now actually looking at him. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm not letting you go alone. I want to help."

"Eric, no…" Charlene whispered.

"Look." He got up and looked her straight in the eyes while taking a hold of her hands, "I don't want to lose you, Charlene. I'm going to help and nothing you can say or do will stop me."

They both stood there for minutes before Charlene smiled then said, "Well, okay. But you better get packing. The train is picking me up in an hour."

Charlene knew at that point that she could completely trust Eric with anything, even her life. He was giving up everything to help her, no matter what the cost. She then turned her gaze back out the window. She was going to see her grandfather. She hadn't seen him in over four years. She didn't blame him for her parents death, but she blamed the world he lives in for it. The magical world. And not only that, but he was the headmaster in a wizarding school.

It was because of Lord Voldemort that Charlene's parents found their fate, along with ten other Muggles. Muggles were known as people without magic. Charlene had magic, oh yes. So did Eric. That's another reason why they were so close. But Charlene never used magic to her advantage. She worked to get what she earned and she found magic as a way for people to get things easier and kill people faster.

Her grandfather was always there for her. In desperate times he stood by her and cared for her. Charlene remembered a night in particular, when she first learned of her parents deaths…

_Charlene had just gotten back from pre-school. She was always dropped off by a friend's parent, since her parents were always gone or too busy at work. She went inside and her nanny, or baby-sitter until her parents got home from work, was inside waiting for her._

_  
She had a snack and did her homework as usual. Then the phone rang. She answered it. _

"Hello...Miss Smithers?" a man asked.

"Yes..." Charlene answered.

"This is Lieutenant Johnson with the Police. We are sending a car for you and we need to bring you to our offices. We need to tell you something." The man told her.

_"What's going on?" Charlene asked nervously. She knew nothing could be good for when the police called a child it only meant a few number of things...all of which were not good. _

"Please, Miss. When an officer comes to your door, answer, and enter the car. He will bring you straight downtown."

_"What about Allie?" The frightened little girl asked._

"_Who's Allie?"_

"_My nanny."_

"_She can come along, if you like. Make sure you're ready to leave when the car gets there. Goodbye, Charlene." The man said then hung up._

_Charlene paced back and forth by the front door waiting for the policeman to arrive. Allie sat nervously on the couch, wondering if this was some sort of prank or is something horrible was indeed happening. Then there was a knock on the door and Charlene jumped. _

"Hello, Miss Smithers." The police officer said. Then seeing the other woman he added with a nod, "Miss Wolf. Come with me please."

They both entered the black car waiting outside and within twenty minutes she was at the downtown police department. She entered an office filled with many people. She noticed there were at least five police officers, three of whom were women with very sad looks of sympathy on their faces when they saw Charlene..

"What's going on?" Charlene asked. Now that she was here she wasn't sure she wanted to know for whatever she was there for couldn't be good. "I need to be home when my parents get home. So please hurry!"

"Charlene..." Lieutenant Johnson started. It seemed he couldn't figure out the next words he should use for what he was about to tell her. "...there has been a terrible accident. Your parents were arriving back from a one-day conference in Boston. The plane crashed right outside of _New York. They're gone… I'm so sorry, dear. We contacted your grandfather. Albus, is his name? He's on his way." _

Charlene sat down with tears streaming down her face. Allie sat down next to her and placed a comforting arm around her, not really knowing what to do. Then Charlene started to cry with all the might that was in her, not caring she was in a room full of other people. Then the three women officers cradled around her and tried to calm her down, but nothing could stop Charlene. Her parents were gone...forever!

Then in walked her grandfather. She knew he would be called away from his school and she was surprised to see her grandfather in 'Muggle' clothes for she assumed he wouldn't change for being in such a rush.

Then her grandfather led her out of the police department and off to his home. She spent the rest of her childhood there with him and his sister, until she realized the reason behind her parent's deaths.

She was now going back. If Charlene could have it any other way she would knew she wouldn't be going to the one place she dreaded. But her life was on the line. A prophecy was made against her, without any say in it at all. Someone, her great-great-great grandfather to be exact, placed this on her. Someone she never met planned the death of her, unless she found the one thing that could stop it.

A man then walked down the aisle of the train. "We will be there in ten minutes, Miss. Make sure you two are ready to leave once the train has stopped." He gave a slight smile then went back to the front of the train to the conductor.

"Excited?" Eric asked.

"Extremely." Charlene said sarcastically.

She then looked back out the window, again. She didn't want to talk about what was going on, not yet. Until now she thought the whole prophecy was a big joke. But now she knew that it was real, and that she could easily be dead before her eighteenth birthday, which was in six months.

It was a cold November night and the stars were gone. Charlene thought to herself, "_The weather is exactly how I feel, gloomy and scared._"

Charlene then thought back to just last year when she felt this scared. She was faced with reality, but she then pushed it to the back of her mind telling herself it was a big joke.

Charlene was at home when the doorbell rang. Eric was at the office pulling in long hours working on a big merger for the company. She went to answer the door only to see the two people she didn't want to standing before her. John and her grandfather were standing outside. They both walked inside and Charlene immediately asked questions. "Why are you two here?"

"Look, Charlene, we all know the answer to that question." John told her.

"You're still not on about that again, are you?" She asked.

"It's a very serious matter." Her grandfather said calmly. "We need to make sure we have plenty of time to work all this out so we can ensure your safety."

"I am safe. This is all a big prank, it really is. You two seriously can't believe it." Charlene said.

"We believe it, all right. Charlene, listen. You've been showing the signs…you're getting weaker day by day, little by little. Soon you'll be too weak to find the clues and the prophecy and by then it will be too late. You must act now." John told her.

"I'm not going to do anything. It's not real!" Charlene shouted.

"Charlene," Dumbledore said in a calm voice, still, "What have your dreams been telling you?"

"How do you know about that?" Charlene asked shocked, she had told no one about her past dreams that haunted her.

"I have them, too. It's your mother. She's trying to warn you. Listen to her, Charlene. Before it's too late." Her grandfather told her, speaking of his only daughter who was now dead.

"No. They're just dreams and this whole thing isn't real."

"What about your health?" John asked.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. Just admit it."

"Both of you, leave! I don't want to see you again." Charlene pushed them out the door and they were gone. She never told anyone she met with them that day, for she didn't want to face the facts that the prophecy was indeed real and that she could've stopped it ahead of time, before waiting until the very last moment to act upon it.

The train started to slow down. They were there. Eric and Charlene both got up and grabbed their bags. The train then completely stopped and they got off into the station. Charlene looked around, waiting for the man who was supposed to take them to Hogwarts. Hagrid was his name. No one was there. Her eyes then traveled to a sign that read:

**Welcome to Hogsmeade,**

**The only wizarding village in England!**

"Oh great," Charlene murmured under her breath.

"Charlene, I think our guide's here." Eric said looking over at a very tall man walking towards them.

"'Ello. Name's Hagrid. 're you Dumbledore's granddaughter?" He asked looking at Charlene.

"Yes." She answered him back, still completely amazed at his size.

"An' who might you be?" Hagrid asked Eric.

"I'm Eric, a friend of Charlene's." Eric replied.

"An' do you kno' about this world 'an all?" Hagrid asked somewhat nervous.

"Yes."

"Good. Well, come on now. This way." Hagrid said then walked right up to a carriage waiting for them with what looked like an enormously big, black, ugly horse. They all got in and there was silence until Charlene asked Hagrid a question about the enormous animal pulling the carriage. "What is that animal who's pulling this thing? It looks too big to be a horse."

"Well-" Hagrid began, but was cut off by Eric.

"What animal? I didn't see any animal." Eric said.

"What are you talking about?" Charlene asked him utterly confused. "It was right there, tied up to this. It's pulling it right now."

"There was nothing there."

"Yes there was."

"Well, you see-" Hagrid began again.

"Nothing's there." Eric told Charlene. "I think you're going mental."

"Quiet!" Hagrid shouted and the two stopped talking. "That outside is called a Threstral. You can only see them if you've seen death." There was silence.

"Who did you see die?" Eric asked Charlene.

"My grandpa's sister. That's when I came to live with you, remember. After she died, I mean. But I saw her die, by Lord Voldemort." Charlene said then looked around at Hagrid who gasped when she said 'Lord Voldemort.'

"Don' say his name like that." Hagrid said looking around nervously as though someone could come up and sneak an attack on him at any moment.

"Why not?" Eric asked.

"I'll let Dumbledore tell 'ya that." Hagrid said. They went the rest of the journey in silence. Within fifteen minutes they were up at the castle. "Dinner's 'bout over with, we can sneak inside 'opefully before the students come out." Hagrid told them and they nodded in agreement.

They got out of the carriage, Charlene taking one last glance at the Threstral (Eric looking at her like she was crazy) then followed Hagrid into the castle.

"Harry!" Hagrid greeted a boy, Charlene's age, with jet black messy hair and glasses. Charlene heard of him, from her grandfather, he was the Boy-Who-Lived.

Standing next to him was a tall red-headed boy with freckles and a girl with brown bushy hair.

"Hi, Hagrid." Harry said.

"Who're they?" Ron asked straight away eyeing Eric and Charlene.

"Just some visitors for Professor Dumbledore." Hagrid told them.

The girl stretched out her hand and introduced herself as Hermione Granger and Eric and Charlene introduced themselves back.

"Anyways, better get goin'. Don' want Dumbledore to think his guests didn't arrive. You three be good." He gave them a smile then walked off down a corridor with Charlene and Eric following him.

They walked up to a Gargoyle statue and stopped. Charlene and Eric both gave each other quizzical looks, but then Hagrid said 'Flopping Flobberworms' And they both whipped their heads around to watch the gargoyle shift and spiral stairs appearing.

"Well, goodbye now. Just go up the steps, Dumbledore'll be there soon." Hagrid waved to them then walked down the corridor, turned right, and disappeared from view.

Charlene and Eric stood at the gargoyle statue for a minute, deciding what to do.

"Should we go up?" Charlene asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Charlene shook her head, but still didn't move.

"Are you going to go or will I have to wait here all day?" The gargoyle said. "This is supposed to be a hidden passage way, you know. So get inside or get lost!"

"He's right." Eric said, then smiled. "After you."

Charlene laughed along with him and then walked up the steps, Eric close on her heels. They walked into a room with an elegant desk and two chairs in front of it. They both sat down and looked around at the many odd instruments in the room.

Before they could guess what their uses were they heard the gargoyle move and someone walking up the steps. They turned around to see none other than her grandfather, Albus Dumbledore, smiling back at them.

"Well, I guess you're wondering where we start from here." He said walking behind his desk and sitting down into his chair. "And I will tell you." He said taking a deep sigh and looking at them through his half moon spectacles. He seemed to have lost track of thought.

"We're waiting." Charlene said annoyed.

"Ah, yes. Where to begin…"

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**End Notes:** Please review. I really would like to know if you like this story.

**Next Chapter:**

The Prophecy is explained.

Charlene has an encounter with her dead Mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books, but I do own all the new characters. I also don't own the plot since it's Harry Potter with a National Treasure type twist, but all the clues and poems and stuff were thought of by me.

**Author's Note:** Here's the second chapter. It sums up the prophecy, basically. There are definately more secrets, but they'll unfold in the story, so you'll just have to wait to find out! Also, the trio will be introduced more into the story and help out with the plot, but in the beginning you really don't see them much.

* * *

"As you know, a prophecy was made many years ago. It was made by my great-great-grandfather. Yes, Agustus Dumbledore. I dear say he was most wise. Anyways, the prophecy was made-"

"Can you tell us something we don't know?" Charlene asked, now very annoyed and angry.

"Charlene," Eric whispered, "Be nice. He is your grandfather." Charlene just glared at him and Dumbledore spoke, again.

"There was a prophecy, saying that a granddaughter of a wonderful wizard in my family would be the chosen one to make a great difference in the world. She would be the one who helps save many lives and change something for the future in a good way. But there was something else part of this prophecy. When this girl would reach the age of adulthood she would die unless she found the power and life stored in an old necklace of my ancestors. If she doesn't find it she will die, even in the best of health."

"So where do we start?" Eric asked.

"Well, we start with the first clue, which I will give to you in a moment. But I must tell you more before we begin the journey. I cannot help in any way. I am a family member and am forbidden to help. If I try I will only cause more harm to Charlene. Also, it is very important we find the necklace, before someone else does." Dumbledore said.

"Who else would want to find it?" Charlene asked, suspiciously.

"Voldemort." Dumbledore stated.

"Why would he care about it?" Charlene asked, now very suspicious.

"Because the prophecy said you are powerful, more powerful then me maybe. Your full powers haven't been fully discovered, yet. But they will be in time. And Voldemort knows this."

"So…"

"So that means he will try to find the necklace and hold it against you, so you will have to decide to join him or die. He wants your powers and with this he can make you choose between him or death that follows if you don't retrieve the necklace in time."

"Well, that's great." Charlene said sarcastically.

"So it's a race?" Eric asked.

"Yes, you could put it that way. So, you two must start working. I suggest the library here, first. Research clues, hexes, anything that could help. I can assure you, though, that all clues will either be here at Hogwarts, although I do not know where, or in the premises around Hogwarts."

"Well, that's loads of help." Charlene said, again, sarcastically.

"I am terribly sorry, but I don't want anything else to happen to you, my dear." Dumbledore said with great sympathy.

"Fine. What's the clue?" Charlene asked bitterly.

Dumbledore then pulled out a drawer in his desk and got out a very old, crumpled piece of parchment.

"That's it?" Eric asked.

"Yes. On it is written a clue that will lead you to a place where you will find the next clue." Dumbledore told them while handing them the piece of parchment.

Charlene looked at it and the only words written on it were:

The Secret Lies in the House of Peterson 

"That's it? But it's nothing." Charlene said.

"I know." Dumbledore said with a sigh. "But you must find out what and where the House of Peterson is and I assume find another clue somewhere in the house. Where it is in the house or what it is, I do not know."

"Can't you just give us a clue?" Charlene asked.

"No, not unless I wanted more harm to come upon you, which I don't. But I can refer you to the Hogwarts Library. I have a feeling that you will find a book in it that's very useful. Some portraits around the school might know as well."

"Well, at least that's a start." Eric said peering down at the parchment, as though more words or another clue would appear.

"Now, I do not want to keep you longer. You should need a full night's rest from your trip. You can start tomorrow. Students will be at classes most of the day, but I'm sure if you find a table in the back you won't be bothered." Dumbledore said. "If you come with me I'll show you to your rooms."

"Yeah, sure." Charlene said pocketing the piece of parchment and following her grandfather down the stairs and out of the gargoyle's hidden passageway.

They walked down a corridor and all the pictures in their frames stopped what they were doing to stare at the two strangers being led by their Headmaster.

The three all stopped at a portrait of two men playing wizards chess. "Frizzing Frogs" Dumbledore said and the portrait swung forward to reveal a door behind it.

They all walked through into a room with a warm fire greeting them. There was a couch, a few chairs, two desks, a few tables, and some other odd furniture in this room. To the left of the room was a spiral staircase that led to an opening where a door stood on the right and another on the left.

"Charlene, your room is up the stairs to the right, and Eric, your room is up the stairs to the left. The bathrooms are right there," Dumbledore pointed to a door on the right side of the common room, "And I hope you find this a suitable common room."

"It's amazing," Eric said in awe.

"Well, you will find all your possessions in your rooms and I suggest you get a good sleep for tomorrow you must start finding out what the clue means." Dumbledore said with a slight wave, "Goodnight." He then headed out the door and off to his own room.

"This is great," Eric said looking around.

"Yeah, wonderful." Charlene said rather dully.

"Look, we better get upstairs to sleep," Eric said now looking at Charlene, serious once again.

"You're right." Charlene said nodding, "Goodnight." She then headed up the stairs and turned right and went through the door.

She walked inside a room with a four poster bed with curtains opposite the door. She also had a dresser, couch, and other necessities for a comfortable room. All her belongings were already unpacked in their proper places. Charlene got to her trunk at the end of the bed and got dressed in her night clothes and laid down on the big, fluffy bed and immediately fell asleep.

Charlene was walking down a deserted road. She recognized it at once. It was Hogsmeade. But why was she here? Where was everyone?

_She walked some more when she spotted someone down the road. It was a woman. Charlene started to walk faster and faster towards the mysterious woman._

_When she got closer it was her mother looking back at her. It wasn't the same mother she remembered. She was older, had more wrinkles, but was still beautiful. _

"_This must be how she would look if she were alive," Charlene thought._

"_Hello, Charlene," The woman said in a dreamlike voice._

"_What are you doing here?" Charlene asked._

"_I came to show you something," Her mother said turning around and starting to walk down the road. Charlene followed. They walked for two minutes, passing old houses, her mother not once looking at anything but the road ahead._

"_Where are we going?" Charlene finally asked._

"_Just follow me." Her mother said, again, in a dreamlike voice. Charlene followed._

_They walked for at least three more minutes before Charlene's mother stopped and stood at a gate._

"_What's this," Charlene asked._

"_It's the Shrieking Shack," Her mother told her looking at the house._

"_It looks spooky," Charlene said looking at the beaten, worn down house. It looked like it hadn't been used in years and had started to fall apart._

"_This is a very important place, Charlene," Her mother said, sill looking at the house._

"_What?" Charlene asked looking at her mother. "Why?"_

"_You'll see, very soon…but just remember. It's very important." Her mother said, in still a dreamlike voice._

"_I don't get it," Charlene said now looking at her mother._

"_You will, just remember…" Her mother started to disappear._

"_Mom!" Charlene screamed, but it was no good. Her mother vanished. Charlene looked back at the house, which was supposed to be very important for some reason._

"Charlene!" Eric said, shaking her slightly, "Charlene, wake up."

"What?" Charlene said groggily.

"Time to get up. The students should be going to breakfast now, then lessons. So we should have the library to ourselves." Eric then left the room and Charlene got up, showered, dressed, and walked down to the common room.

When Charlene walked into the common room Eric was already eating at a table with food on it.

"Where did this come from?" Charlene asked.

"I don't know. It was just here when I woke up." Eric said taking a bite into his toast.

Charlene sat down and ate breakfast, too. When they were done eating it was time to talk business.

"So, where do we start?" Eric asked her, looking somewhat worried.

"Well, Dumbledore-" Charlene began.

"You mean your grandfather." Eric said.

"Fine. Grandfather said that portraits could know or it could be found in the library. So I think you should start asking portraits while I look in some books." Charlene said, trying to think of all her options.

"Sounds good to me. Shall we begin?" Eric asked, getting up.

"Sure." Charlene said and they both left and headed down to the library.

No one was there and Charlene put a notebook and pencil on a desk in the very back while Eric headed to the third floor to start asking portraits.

Charlene then walked around some shelves and picked up a book titled, 'Historic Houses and Where to Find Them.'

She took it back to the desk and looked at the index. There was no Peterson House, but there was a House of Peter. Charlene thought, _"Well, it's close enough…"_ She opened up the book and went to page 345 and began to read.

**The House of Peter is commonly known for its second habitant,**

**Peter Smothers Jr. who was known best for his murder of his wife**

**and two children. Strangely enough, he smothered them all one**

**dark night. Mr. Smothers vanished right after this incident and**

**was never found again. Some say that he went to Siberia where**

**he joined a tribe known as the Trigarians while others say he went**

**to live in the caves of Switzerland and suffered of hunger a few **

**years after his disappearance. Until this day we will never know**

**what happened to Mr. Peter Smothers or how exactly he died.**

"This is a waste of time," Charlene muttered putting the book back on the shelf and looking around for another book.

She looked for at least twenty minutes before she found another one she thought she might try. It was titled, 'Haunted Houses of England.'

"_I hope this is better than the last one,"_ Charlene thought while opening the index of the book.

The Haunted HousePage 1 

**The Haunted MansionPage 7**

**The UnthinkablePage 15**

**The Horror HousePage 19**

**The Mansion of LondonPage 25**

**The House of Surrey Page 35**

Charlene looked down the whole page of the index and found nothing relating to 'The House of Peterson.'

So she walked back to the shelf and put it up and started to look, again, for anything that could help her. After at least thirty minutes of going through rows and looking at books she found one that she hoped would finally help her.

She went back to her desk in the back and sat down. The title of, 'Mysterious Places and Where to Find Them' looked back at her with gold shining letters.

**This is about all the mysterious places found in England**

**that arouses suspicion to many passerby's'. This is a useful**

**book to those who are looking for answers in their many**

**suspicious questions. Read now to brighten your mind…**

She looked at the index and, again, found nothing. She gave up and stuffed the book back down onto the desk. Charlene didn't even try looking for a new book, she was exhausted and incredibly hungry. She was about to go to lunch when a group of giggling girls, looking her age, approached her.

"Hi," said one of the girls.

"Um, hi." Charlene said while picking up her bag.

"Are you really Dumbledore's granddaughter?" Another, giggling, girl asked.

"Yes," Charlene said now putting her notebook and pen into her bag.

"Then why have you never come to school here?" A third girl asked.

"I have my reasons." Charlene said, putting a few small books into her bag.

"Were you too dumb to come?" The second girl asked.

"Ashley! You don't ask someone that." The first girl said.

"Well, I was just wondering," The girl named Ashley said, shrugging.

"Look, I have to go so-" Charlene began.

"No, please." Ashley said.

"Yeah, we just have a few questions." The third girl asked.

"Why don't you three give her a break and leave? You wouldn't even be here except you were looking for cute boys," A bushy hair girl said from the next table. Charlene remembered her as the girl she met yesterday with the two boys. Hermione.

"But-" The first girl began.

"Leave!" Hermione shouted pointing at the door. "Professor Dumbledore said not to bother her. Now out!"

"Fine." Huffed Ashley and the third girl walked right after her out the entrance.

"We wouldn't usually leave, but since you're a prefect…" The first girl said walking off to join her friends.

"Thanks," Charlene said. "Hermione. Right?"

"Yes."

"He actually told you guys about me?" Charlene asked.

"Yeah, nothing big. Just saying who you were and not to bother you and that you'd be around the castle and what not." Hermione said walking back to her desk.

"Oh," Charlene said.

Suddenly Eric walked in and started rambling on about something.

"Eric, what in the world are you saying?" Charlene asked, looking at her friend with an expression of utter confusion.

"No portraits on the third floor know." Eric said. "I must have asked every single one on that floor and none know!"

"This is not going good."

"What? You couldn't find it in any books?" Eric asked with fear etched in his voice.

"Not in the books I looked in, which were quite a few." Charlene said, now looking somewhat scared.

"Well, what do we do now? Dumbledore won't help…do you think we should ask the librarian?"

"I don't know. He could have told her not to help us." Charlene said.

"Well," Hermione said, listening into their conversation, "I know every book in the library. If you tell me what you're looking for I can help."

"Really?" Charlene asked, now very excited.

"Charlene," Eric said turning her back around to face him, "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, Dumbledore can't help us, what makes you think she can?"

"Well, we're not asking her for help or anything…I mean, she actually asked us." After seeing the look on Eric's face she added, "Oh, come on. It'll be all right."

She turned back to Hermione, "We're looking for 'The House of Peterson.' Does it ring a bell?"

"Actually, it does. It's somewhere in Hogsmeade…I'm pretty sure of it." She started to glance around the library as if it would pop out. "Oh, I remember where it is now. Hold on, I'll be right back."

While Hermione ran off towards some shelves of books the two boys Charlene and Eric met the day before walked in and joined Hermione's table.

"Hi," The red hair boy said. "Who're you?"

"I'm Eric and that's Charlene," Eric said since Charlene was looking out the window, towards the village of Hogsmeade even though you couldn't see it from here, looking very excited.

"Oh yeah, we met you yesterday, didn't we?" The dark hair boy with glasses asked. "I'm Harry Potter." He said stretching out his hand for Eric to shake.

"You're Dumbledore's granddaughter, aren't you?" The red head asked Charlene.

Charlene turned around, "Yeah."

"So what are you doing here now? I mean obviously you could get into school with Dumbledore being your granddad and all…" Ron said trailing off, looking at the face Harry was giving him.

"Ron, shut it," Harry mumbled under his breath while putting all his books on the desk.

Then, Hermione came back, panting. "I've got it. It has to be here somewhere." She said handing the book to Charlene.

Charlene took it and looked at the title, 'Historic Places in Hogsmeade.'

"Eric," Charlene whispered, turning to look at him, with eyes big now for excitement, "Hogsmeade. It's near Hogwarts…It has to be in here."

"You're right. He said some things were in Hogwarts, others around. And Hogsmeade is the only place around." Eric said now looking equally excited.

"Exactly." Charlene said going back to her desk in the very back corner of the library and sitting down starting to read through the index.

Eric turned back to the others, "See you around, then." He then sat down across from Charlene while she enthusiastically read through the list of Historic Places in Hogsmeade.

"Eric," Charlene half screamed, "This is it. It's here! The House of Peterson is in Hogsmeade!"

* * *

**Ending Note:** I hope you liked the second chapter. Remember: more reviewsmore motivation to write more chapters!

**Next Chapter:**

They find out where the House of Peterson is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books, but I do own all the new characters. I also don't own the plot since it's Harry Potter with a National Treasure type twist, but all the clues and poems and stuff were thought of by me.

**Author's Note:** Here's the third chapter. I hope you do enjoy. And thanks so much for your reviews. It encourages me to write more and to work harder on each chapter.

* * *

"You found it," Eric asked. 

"Yes! It's here!" Charlene said, eyes now big and wide.

"Well, read it, then." Eric said, now just as excited.

The House of Peterson is known for it's only occupant, Mr. Zachary 

**Peterson. He was best known for his clock making. It is said that in**

**His house is a room full of his whole life's works of handmade clocks.**

**No one has ever known this for sure because it is said that the house is**

**Haunted. Those brave enough to enter the house have come out and **

**Wouldn't utter a word about the mysterious house. The house is now**

**Known as the Shrieking Shack and is still a place of horror and mystery!**

"My dream…" Charlene whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Last night I had a dream about my mother," Charlene said.

"But she's dead-"

"I know. But it was just a dream. And she took me to the Shrieking Shack and told me it was important."

"Did she tell you how to get in or anything?"

"No, nothing else." Charlene said with a sigh.

"How do we know where it is in the house?" Eric asked.

Behind him Hermione, Ron, and Harry were whispering their ideas about the topic, for they were listening to their conversation and were equally just as curious.

Charlene thought for a moment before adding, "The room that's locked."

"What?" Eric asked, now very confused.

"Sirius went to the Shrieking Shack when he was at school. He said there was always a room that was locked and he couldn't get in there. No one could. That's the room we have to get into." Charlene said.

"What's inside?" Eric asked.

"Well, I'm guessing that's his secret stash of clocks. It must be in a clock or somewhere around it." Charlene said, now contemplating that last bit of evidence to her next clue.

Just then Harry walked over. "Do you mean Sirius Black?"

"Yes." Charlene said, looking up at him with curiosity.

"But how could he tell you this. He's either been in Azkaban or on the run," he said sitting down. Then Hermione and Ron came to join Harry at the table with Charlene and Eric.

"I was friends with him and visited him in Azkaban," Charlene explained.

_Charlene walked into the dreadful looking hall that led to the heavily guarded cell of a murderous, Sirius Black._

_She looked into the cell to see her dear friend in the corner, mumbling something to himself._

"_Sirius?" She whispered._

_The man turned his head to look at who said his voice and a smile appeared on his dirty face._

"_Charlene!" He exclaimed, getting up and going over to the cell bars. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Visiting you, of course." Charlene answered with a smile._

"_This is no place for a kid like you," Sirius said, with a serious tone in his voice._

"_I know you didn't just call me a kid." Charlene said and Sirius laughed. "And is that the famous Sirius Black being somewhat serious?"_

"_Oh, not with the Sirius, serious thing. James used to drive me crazy with that." Sirius said, sitting down. _

_Charlene sat down and looked at him. "You look better than most in here and they've been in here for a shorter time than you have. How do you survive it?"_

"_I think the bigger question is how you can walk in here and not be affected by the Dementors at all," Sirius said, trying to avoid from that certain topic._

"_I learned to shut all feelings from myself. Dementors can't effect you if you show no emotion." Charlene said with a smile of satisfaction._

"_That's quite brilliant of yourself," Sirius said. _

"_Tell me a story." Charlene suddenly said._

"_What?" Sirius asked with a soft chuckle._

"_I don't want you to lose your mind, Sirius. Remember the past. Tell me a story."_

"_Okay. I'll tell you about my monthly visit to the Shrieking Shack…."_

_Sirius told her the many adventures he had in the Shrieking Shack with his friends, not including he was a dog and his friends were either animagus or a werewolf. He then finished with telling her about a room that was always locked and a weird clicking noise was behind it, but very hard to hear._

_  
"I think there was a sound proof charm on the walls, but it was wearing off towards the end of seventh year because we could hear a soft clicking in there." Sirius told her._

"_Sounds like you and your friends had a fun time during school. Of course you broke many rules, but what can you expect from the Marauders?" Charlene said and they both laughed._

"_Yes and your grandfather still doesn't know how we did it. He knows we did, but he doesn't know how."_

"_I'm sure he'll figure it out soon…or maybe he already has."_

"_I'm sure he has too, but he liked us too much to get us suspended."_

"_Yes, I'm sure that's the reason. He loved you lot too much." Charlene said, now with a huge smile. It was good to talk to a friend, even if he was in a wizard prison for murdering thirteen Muggles, a wizard, and betraying his two best friends. Although, Charlene knew he didn't do any of it._

"_How's Harry?" Sirius asked, with curiosity in his voice. _

"_I asked grandpa, he's doing fine. Don't worry about him. He's a tough kid."_

"_Yeah, I guess you're right…"_

"_I know I'm right. He's James and Lily Potter's kid for Merlin's sake. Of course he's tough." They both laughed._

"_I just wish I could be with him. It'd be like being with James, again," Sirius said with a deep sigh._

"_Except he's not James, Sirius. He's Harry," Charlene told him. She knew he missed his best mate very much, but that couldn't make him escape the reality that James Potter was never coming back._

"_Still…"_

_Then a man came, followed by two Dementors. _

"_Your time's up, missy," he grumbled, and then walked away, leaving the two Dementors behind._

"_Well, bye, Sirius. I'll visit soon, I promise." Charlene said with a weak smile._

"_I don't like you coming here, Charlene. It's too…dreadful." Sirius said, glancing at the two Dementors._

"_Don't worry about me, I'm a big girl." Charlene gave a wink, shook hands with Sirius, for that was all she could do, then left._

"They say it's dreadful," Hermione said.

"Not for me. Dementors don't affect me," Charlene told them.

"How is that possible?" Ron asked, dumbfounded.

"Charlene, we don't have time for this," Eric said, somewhat annoyed.

"You're right. So, how do we get there?" Charlene asked, forgetting that Ron, Hermione, and Harry were still there.

"How about walking up to the house, for starters." Eric said.

"We can't do that. He'll have spies everywhere. It's too suspicious." Charlene said, now trying to think of how to get there without being seen.

"Who'll have spies?" Harry asked.

Charlene glanced at Eric, who shrugged. "Voldemort."

"What's he got to do with this?" Ron asked, yet again, confused.

"It's a long story and we really don't have time to tell you right now. We have to figure how to get inside, first." Charlene said, re-reading the passage about the House of Peterson.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, but not soft enough that Charlene and Eric couldn't hear, "We should tell them about the Marauder's Map."

"No-" Harry began, but was cut off by Charlene.

"You have the Marauder's Map?" She asked.

"Yes." Harry replied.

"The one Sirius, Remus, your father, and the other guy made? The one with all the secret passages out of here?" Charlene asked, for she knew about this map only too well.

"What does this…map…have to do with anything?" Eric asked.

"All the Marauders went through a secret passageway out of Hogwarts to the Shrieking Shack every month during Remus's transformations. It has to be on the map somewhere." Charlene said.

"Harry, come on. We can trust them. It's Dumbledore's granddaughter for Merlin's sake." Hermione pleaded.

"Why do you want to help them so much?" Harry asked back.

"I don't know…but they need out help, Harry." Hermione told him.

"We might as well, mate," Ron said, trying to be in the conversation.

"I don't know…" Harry said, eyeing Charlene and Eric suspiciously.

"Look, Harry," Charlene said. "Just tell us where the passage way entrance is and we'll be fine."

"It's in the Whomping Willow." Harry said.

"Please say you don't mean that big tree that hits anyone who comes too close," Charlene said, with worry in her voice.

"Yep. That's the one," Ron said. "Had a bit of trouble with it in the past years-"

"Ron." Hermione hissed.

"What, I was just telling a story," Ron said with a shrug.

"Wait…'immobulous'." Charlene said. "That will stop the tree from moving fast and we can run and look for the entrance."

"It's in the big mess of roots," Harry informed them.

"That's sounds easy enough," Eric added.

"Perfect. Well, thanks so much for the help. But it's getting late and tomorrow Eric and I have to find out exactly what we're looking for." Charlene got up, gathered her books, and went back up to her room and slept soundlessly during the night.

When Charlene woke up she dressed quickly and ate a quick breakfast and went down to the library before Eric even woke up.

She was there for five minutes when a familiar bushy haired girl walked in and sat down next to her.

"I have a question for you," Hermione whispered, glancing around as if they could be overheard.

"What?" Charlene asked, bewildered.

"What exactly are you looking for in the Shrieking Shack?" Hermione asked with curiosity.

"I'm not sure." Charlene told her. Charlene knew she could trust Hermione, what with reading her grandfather's letters, but never replying, she remembered the many stories he told her about the famous trio. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I thought I could help," Hermione replied as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Why do you want to help two strangers?"

"Well, you're not strangers…really. I mean, you're Dumbledore's granddaughter."

"True, but-"

"It's just, you see…I read a book awhile ago about the man who owned the Shrieking Shack before it became…the Shrieking Shack." Hermione said.

"So…"

"So, I can help you. He made clocks, right?"

"Yeah…" Charlene replied, not sure where this was leading to.

"Well, then it must be behind the locked door. And then from there it must be in a clock…an important one." Hermione said, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

"But how do we know which clock?" Charlene asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to figure it out when we get there."

"Wait- what do you mean _we_? You're not coming with us."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not."

"Look, Harry has two things you'll need."

"Really, and what's that?" Charlene asked rather dully.

"An invisibility cloak and a knife that opens all locked doors. Harry had one and it broke, but he found a new one in his Godfather's old house," Hermione explained.

Eric then walked in and sat down next to Charlene. He saw that they were both talking to each other rather secretly so he asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, just-" Charlene began, but was cut off by Hermione, who was now very excited that she may actually get to help.

"I want to help you guys." Hermione said. "I have things you could use-"

"Like what?" Eric asked, curiously.

"An invisibility cloak and a knife to open all doors." Hermione explained.

"And what about your two friends?" Eric asked.

"What about them?"

"Do they have a role in this or are you going to help us all by yourself?" Eric asked her.

"Well, I'm sure they'd help…I mean, Dumbledore did ask us-"

"He what?" Charlene exclaimed.

"Well, you see…well, he didn't really _ask_ us…he just kind of, you know, hinted."

"Really?" Charlene asked, sarcastically. "And how did he hint this to you three?"

"Well, he was just talking about your arrival and the big mystery and he said sometimes three heads are better than one and he looked at Ron, Harry, and me." Hermione explained to them both. "Please let me help. Harry and Ron want to help, too."

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" Charlene said, looking at Ron and Harry who'd just entered and sat down at the table.

"What's not a good idea?" Harry asked, curiously.

"I think we should help them," Hermione said mater-of-factly.

"Why should we help them?" Ron asked. "We don't even know them."

"Ron, how many times do I have to tell you? She's Dumbledore's granddaughter. And he practically asked us the other night to help them, anyways. Plus, we have things they could use _and _we know more about magic to help protect them." Hermione said, trying to persuade her two best friends.

"Fine. If you say it like _that_," Ron said, clearly proven wrong.

"If you're planning on what day to go I think we should go Saturday," Harry told them all.

"Why Saturday?" Eric asked.

"Are you crazy! It's Slytherin versus Ravenclaw on Saturday. We can't miss that." Ron said, outraged.

"It is the best time to go, Ron. I mean, everyone will be at the game. They won't notice us gone." Hermione said.

"Well…" Ron said, trailing off at a sudden defeat.

"Saturday it is then." Charlene said. "And just know that I don't _need_ or _want_ your help. But," Charlene sighed, "If Dumbledore thinks it's a good idea then it probably is."

"He thought keeping Sirius locked up in the house was a good idea, and look how that turned out…" Harry said, angry.

"Harry-" Hermione began, but Charlene cut her off.

"Look, Harry, we're all sad about Sirius's death, but face it- he died in battle. Do you think he would have had it any other way?"

"Well no, but-"

"Exactly. So, back on topic, we'll meet you guys at ten by the front doors. Sound okay to you three?"

They all nodded and mumbled their agreements then Charlene and Eric went back to their dorm to eat some lunch, practice on some skills the rest of the afternoon, eat dinner, and then sleep.

They had to make sure they found what they were looking for the next morning, no mistakes…

* * *

**Ending Note:** I hope you guys all liked this chapter. And points to those who guessed the Shrieking Shack was also The House of Peterson. Who wants to guess what they're going to find in one of the clocks? The person who answers right or guesses the closest to what (object) the group will find in one of the clocks will get a character named after them. So start guessing…

**Next Chapter:**

They find the room of clocks

They figure out the next clue.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books, but I do own all the new characters. I also don't own the plot since it's Harry Potter with a National Treasure type twist, but all the clues and poems and stuff were thought of by me.

**Author's Note:** I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks so much for all the reviews.

* * *

Charlene woke up the next morning with a small headache. She had the worst dreams. In all of them she ended up dead and so was everyone else. She often wondered if she was doing the right thing, dragging other people into this. But in the end she knew she needed their help, whether she liked it or not.

When she got dressed she went downstairs to see Eric eating their breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast.

"Morning," Eric grumbled.

Charlene walked over, sat down, and began to dish food onto her plate. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know," Eric said, looking up at her, "but I want to. Besides, you need me."

"Oh, I do?" Charlene asked laughing.

"Yeah, who's going to save you?"

"I don't need to be saved."

"You think that now, but you'll find out later there will be a moment when you need saved and I'm the only one who can help you. It happens in all the movies," Eric said, shrugging.

Charlene just laughed and finished eating her food. After they were both done Charlene grabber her bag and they headed down to the main doors.

When they got there they found Hermione, Ron, and Harry already there, waiting for them. Ron looked nervous, Hermione looked excited, and Harry had no expression.

"Ready?" Hermione asked. They both nodded and she led them out the doors down the hill. Charlene couldn't help but notice a small spring in each of Hermione's steps and she smiled at this.

They were almost down the hill when they heard a loud roar of cheers from the Quidditch stadium.

"I wonder who scored," Ron said, but no one answered him.

They were now feet away from the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow.

"Do you know the spell?" Hermione asked Charlene. Charlene nodded and got out her wand. She then said, "_I__mmobulous_" and the tree moved in a very, very slow motion. They could now walk, or rather run for the fear that the tree will start thrashing any moment, into the hole within the roots of the tree.

Once they got inside Hermione got out her wand, muttered the spell, and her wand lit up like a flashlight. She led the group down the path, having come in it once before.

Once they got to a trap door they all, one by one, walked up through it to find themselves in a very old, beaten up house.

"Where do we go now?" Eric asked, looking at Charlene.

"I don't know. Just…listen for the ticking of clocks, I guess." Charlene answered him, heading up the stairs.

Everyone walked down the long hall, putting their ears to the door to see if they could hear ticking behind it.

Charlene was on the fourth door on the right when she put her ear up to the door. She heard the ticking of what seemed like 100 clocks behind the big, wooden door.

"It's in here," Charlene told the others. They rushed to her, pulling out their wands.

Hermione was the first to take action, trying any and all the charms she knew to open doors.

"Nothing's working," Hermione said.

"What do we do, then?" Harry asked.

"Is there another way into the room?" Eric asked.

"No," Charlene answered him.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron said. "You know everything, just think of something and let's get this over with. I get creeped out about this place, still."

"I'm thinking." Hermione snapped back at Ron.

Ron and Harry exchanged looks. Harry gave Ron a look that said 'not now' and they both looked back at Hermione who was now pacing back and forth running through different spells in her head.

"Well," Hermione sad at last, "I know this one charm. It's very advanced, but I haven't practiced it as much as I have others."

"Just try it," Charlene said, eager to get inside the door.

Hermione said the spell, it hit the door, and the door opened as if no effort was put into opening it.

"Well, that was easy." Ron said, walking into the room first.

Once inside Charlene looked around. There were clocks on shelves, clocks on the wall, and clocks standing up. The room was quite noisy with the different ticks here and there.

"Which one do you suppose it's in?" Eric asked.

"I don't know." Charlene said.

"Just… look in all the clocks," Hermione ordered, going to the nearest clock and examining it.

Charlene just walked around looking at all the clocks, pondering in her head how she would know which one to look in.

In the very back of the room, hidden by two knights, was a grandfather clock. It looked elegant, but couldn't be properly seen because of the two metal statues in front of it.

She walked and one of the knights put a hand up signaling for her to stop.

"_Why would this clock be guarded?"_ Charlene wondered in her head.

She knew the answer immediately. That was the clock she needed to get into to find the next clue. It was being guarded, so no one before would want to get near. But Charlene had to get inside.

Charlene stood there thinking of what to do. She then thought back to something her grandfather said.

"Do you know why I call you 'Elita'?" Charlene's grandfather asked her. This was her father's dad. He died many years ago, but while he was alive Charlene adored him. She still adores him.

_He was always a mystery to her. He'd show up for a few days then be called off to 'work' but would never tell her what his work was. He also taught her how to fight. She knew, at a young age, how to defend herself with weapons and one on one combat._

"_No," Charlene answered him._

"_I call you 'Elita' because it means the chosen one. I knew the minute you were born that you would grow up and take my place," He said with a smile._

"_Take your place where?" Charlene asked._

"_You'll see…when you're older. You'll need training, yes, lots of training. And then, one day, you'll be the best." He said all this with a look in his eyes as if he were seeing the future._

"_I'll be the best what?"_

"_Warrior."_

"_Warrior?"_

"_Yes, Elita. A warrior. You will be the best. I know it."_

"_How?"_

"_Because you're my granddaughter. Haven't you ever wondered what I did, Elita?"_

"_Well, yes…"_

"_And you will learn more when you're older, but now you are in training. I know you will be the protector of good and fight evil. You are the chosen one, Elita."_

_Charlene looked at her grandfather with admiration. She wondered if he was right. She would grow up to have a future she never planned. Could it be possible that she is the chosen one?_

_She never finished her training because her grandfather died. A man named Gideon killed him. Charlene made a vow that day to get him back no matter what costs. She knew she'd be the best someday and then she'd kill the man who took her Grandfather away from her forever…_

Charlene got the others' attentions and spells were being fired left and right. Charlene pushed Eric to the side and pulled out a wand of her own and was yelling spells, trying to ward off the magic surrounding the mysterious clock.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Ron asked in amazement.

"Her grandfather." Eric replied, knowing the whole story.

"Professor Dumbledore taught you how to fight like that?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Charlene answered.

"But I thought-" Harry began.

"Never mind," Charlene said. "This has to be the clock. The knights were guarding it. Why else would they be guarding it unless there was something inside no one was supposed to have?"

"It's beautiful," Charlene whispered under her breath more to herself then anyone else.

She opened the little door she found in it and put her hand inside. She pulled out a very old key with ancient writings on it. It was old Greek. Charlene knew how to read this language. She backed away and showed the others what she found.

"How do we know what it says? It's in gibberish," Ron said.

"It's ancient Greek writing." Charlene said. "I can read it."

She took the key and went outside the hall into the light. She then began to read what it said. "Two worlds divided then united…this piece of history all abided…only to be revealed under the full moon…the way to prevent one girl's doom."

"Well, I don't know what the other things mean, but I'm pretty sure the girl with the doom thing is you," Ron said, rather proud he figured that out.

"Of course it is, Ronald," Hermione said annoyed. "Now the first part was something about two worlds divided."

"Yeah, then united." Harry said. "What do they mean two worlds? There's only one."

"They mean the wizarding world and Muggles. It can only be that. Two worlds in one." Charlene said, beginning to pace back and forth, thinking of all the information in her head.

"Then it said something about the piece of history all abided," Eric added in.

"So…it's a document." Charlene said. "Yes, a document that all agreed to that made peace between Muggles and wizards."

"What is it, then?" Hermione asked.

"The Declaration of Unitation," Charlene said.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"It was signed by the Muggle leaders and all of the Ministry of Magic officials at the time of all countries that made peace between Muggles and wizards." Charlene explained.

"So, how do we get this document?" Eric asked.

"We can't. It's one of the most important documents in Muggle and Wizarding history. We can't just waltz in and take it to examine it then give it back." Charlene said.

"Wait, it's going to be in Hogsmeade," Hermione said.

"What?" Charlene asked, not believing what she just heard.

"They're displaying it in a history shop in Hogsmeade. I read about it in the Daily Prophet." Hermione told them all.

"We could go in and look at it." Eric said, now seeing the hope in their mission.

"No we can't. It said it can only be revealed under a full moon. So we'd need it at night by ourselves and need it out of the casing. It's impossible." Charlene said, sitting down on a beaten out chair in the hallway.

"There's got to be something we can do." Ron said.

"There isn't." Charlene said, facing defeat.

"We can steal it," Harry said.

"No, we can't just steal it, Harry. You'd all be suspended and Eric and me would be arrested." Charlene put her head in her hands, seeing nothing she can do to stop her death.

Then Charlene heard a slithering sound and looked to see a snake going down the steps.

"NO!" She screamed out. Everyone looked at her as if she'd just gone mad.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked rushing to her side.

"The snake. It's Voldemort's. He knows now. He knows what to get." Charlene said frantically.

Harry looked down the stairs to see the snake slither out the door. "She's right. It's his. We'd better get out of here."

"Let's go." Ron said.

Charlene looked out the window to see two hooded figures walking towards the house.

"Death Eaters." Charlene said, running down the stairs and opening the trap door. "Everyone down. Hurry!"

They all ran through the trap door down the darkening tunnel, Charlene last, closing the hidden door behind her.

She got out her wand, muttered 'lumos', and ran after the others as fast as she could to the end of the tunnel.

When she got to the end of the tunnel she ran with the others out of it and back into the castle. Luckily for them, the Quidditch game had just gotten over and they joined the crowd of chatty students talking about the highlights of the game.

"We need to talk more about this," Hermione whispered to the others. "We need to meet…tonight."

"How about the astronomy tower at midnight?" Harry suggested.

"Will you guys be able to get out without getting into trouble?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. We'll use the invisibility cloak," Hermione said. "We'd better go. See you then." She waved and ran off towards the stairs that led to the Gryffindor Tower. Ron and Harry waved their goodbyes, too, and followed Hermione.

Eric and Charlene then decided to go back to their rooms. Once inside Eric began to ask questions.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Charlene answered.

"We can't really steal it."

"We have to."

"We what?"

"Look," Charlene said with a sigh, "I don't want to explain it three hundred times. I'll tell you with the others tonight."

Eric and Charlene spent the rest of the evening trying to do things to distract them from the time, but every ten minutes one of them glanced at the clock to see if it was midnight yet.

At 11:30 they both decided to head out to the Astronomy Tower. They were lucky, not running into any teacher along the way.

When they got up there they saw Hermione, Harry, and Ron were already waiting for them.

"Look, I've got to do this on my own now. It's getting dangerous…and legal." Charlene told them all.

"We want to help," Ron protested.

"Look, I have to steal it. If you're caught you'll be expelled and maybe even worse." Charlene explained.

"We don't care." Harry said, while Hermione looked a little worried. "We'll help. Won't we, Hermione?" Harry said, glaring at her.

"Of c-course. Yes, we'll help." Hermione said, regaining her posture. "But why do we have to steal it?"

"Voldemort knows the next clue and he's going to steal it. Now, if he gets it not only will I be dead, but the document will be done for. Now, to protect the document and try to save my life I _have_ to steal it."

"How are we going to do that?" Ron asked.

"It'll take planning and it'll have to be perfect. But we have to do this fast, because most likely, Voldemort is already planning on stealing it himself." Charlene said.

"Well, we can meet in the Room of Requirement every night after dinner," Harry suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Ron said.

"Me too." Eric said.

Hermione just nodded.

"Do you know how to get to the Room of Requirement?" Hermione asked Eric and Charlene.

"Oh, yes. Heard about it many times from grandpa." Charlene said.

"You all better be off to bed. Don't want you getting caught." Eric said. Then he and Charlene left to go to bed.

Charlene spent the whole night tossing and turning, thinking of how she was going to steal the most protected document by wizards and Muggles before Voldemort could get his hands on it.

This was going to be difficult, very difficult…

* * *

**End Note:** I hope you guys liked this chapter. I wrote it in like an hour, maybe a little over. That's got to be a record. cheers Please review, and ask your friends to read and review, too. Thanks! 

**Next Chapter:**

Charlene and the others start planning how to steal the document.

Harry starts to realize his feelings for a certain someone.

Ginny is introduced into the story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books, but I do own all the new characters. I also don't own the plot since it's Harry Potter with a National Treasure type twist, but all the clues and poems and stuff were thought of by me. Also, some credits to the makes of Elektra because I like the strong woman types and the warrior aspect of it all. And for this chapter there are some words from Lord of the Rings that has to do with death and the choices we make.

**Author's Note:** Hope you enjoy this chapter. By the way, I should mention this whole story was thought out and written before HBP, so it might not meet up with all the true story plots from the book series.

* * *

Everyone met at the front doors of the school the next morning. They had planned the night before to use the school's Threstrals to fly to Hogsmeade. It was too hard to try to go through the statue into Honeydukes. 

"All here?" Eric asked.

"Yeah." Hermione said and they all headed out into the forest.

"I forgot to bring meat to get them," Hermione said.

"No problem," Charlene told her. "I got this from Dumbledore. It attracts them." Charlene pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew.

Within minutes three Threstrals appeared out of the forest. Only Harry, Charlene, and Eric saw these creatures.

"Are they…here?" Ron asked, nervously.

"Yeah." Harry answered him.

Hermione eyed the empty space, suspiciously.

"What is going on here?" A female voice asked.

They all turned in a panic and saw Ginny with her arms crossed and a look that said 'you-better-talk-now-or-else'.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"I saw you guys sneaking out. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Harry said.

"Harry Potter you tell me now or else I'll hex you so hard you won't be able to play Quidditch for a month." Ginny demanded.

"Merlin, she really is as tough as your mum," Harry said under his breath to Ron.

"We're just taking a trip," Charlene said.

"Well, it's something more than that. All of you have been way too secretive lately," Ginny said pointing to Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"Maybe we should just tell her." Hermione offered.

"No. Too many people are in it already," Eric said.

"But she could help us."

"She's just a kid."

"I'm only one year under them," Ginny said pointing at the trio, again.

"It's too risky," Eric said.

"Look, Ginny, we're just helping them. Okay?" Ron said, now irritated by his little sister.

"Helping them with what?" Ginny asked, curiously.

"None of your business," Ron snapped.

"I'm going with you." Ginny stated.

No one said a word. They all knew that they couldn't talk her out of this and they couldn't just let her go back to the castle for she might tell someone that they were leaving.

"Fine. But you better stay by my side the whole time," Ron said.

"Deal. So, are we going on the Thestrals?"

"Yeah," Charlene said. "They're here. Ginny you can go with Harry, Hermione with Eric, and Ron with me. That way we're all with someone who can actually see a Thestral."

They all nodded and were all mounted and ready to leave on each Theastral within five minutes.

"Are we ready?" Eric asked.

With a look from everyone they took off. After twenty minutes of flying they were above the quiet town of Hogsmeade. They landed in front of the Museum of Wizarding History that was an old house refurbished into a place of public viewing.

Ron went up to the door and tried the opening charm, but it didn't work. "I can't get past," he told the others.

Ginny came up and studied the door. "Fred and George taught me a charm once. It might work." She did the charm and the door opened.

"That's seventh year material. How did you know that?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Like I said, the twins taught me. How do you think I got in Ron's room to borrow his old broom?" Ginny said laughing.

Eric stopped and looked at Charlene who still stood there, not moving towards the open door.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too easy," she replied.

"Come on. Let's just get this over with."

Charlene hesitated, but went in with the others. While everyone kept a lookout Charlene did a copy charm and gave the original to Eric.

"Put this on the inside of your coat. Keep it protected."

Eric nodded. "But I thought we brought this," Eric said holding a case, "to put it in."

"No. That's for the copy, the decoy. If someone comes they'll take the one in the case and that has to be the fake."

"Good thinking," Eric said, helping Charlene put the copy into the case.

Hermione saw they were done and whispered, "Come on, guys. Let's get back before they even realize we were gone."

"Not so fast!" A low voice said.

They all turned to see three Death Eaters standing at the door. Everyone drew out their wands.

"Now, hand over the document," A second Death Eater said, holding out his hand for the document.

Charlene threw over the case with the fake document in it. She then looked at Eric who knew what she meant. He started to quietly and unnoticeably head towards the back of the room.

"Thank you for the gift. My lord will be pleased." The first Death Eater said.

"Well, that means so much to me," Charlene said, sarcastically.

"In time you will appreciate him."

"What makes you believe that I will ever bow down to him?"

"Because if you don't you shall die."

"Death isn't so bad, you know," Charlene said, slowly walking towards them.

"And how would you know?" The third Death Eater asked.

"I think I'll keep that secret to myself. But we all must die one day, might we not?" Charlene said, still advancing on the three, the others (excluding Eric) behind her.

The first Death Eater moved his wand closer to Charlene. "Stay away, you devil. Fight with your own kind."

"My own kind?" Charlene asked.

The Death Eaters parted to reveal a warrior. He was in his thirties and dressed in his fighting robe.

"We meet again, Elita." He said, bowing. Charlene bowed, too.

"A great pleasure."

"But before we fight I have one question."

"Well, ask and I might answer you," Charlene said, grasping her swords tighter.

"Are you ready to die?"

"Not particularly," Charlene said quite playfully for the horrible situation they were in.

"I am ready to fight." She replied.

"Wonderful."

They advanced on each other and were engrossed in a tense fight within minutes. During this the Death Eaters advanced out the door and out of sight.

Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Eric watched from the corner. They watched while Elita would be in power over the fight then have it shifted on the dark warrior.

Elita turned to kick him and the man fell, but while she was still spinning the man came up and cut a big slash along her upper arm. Elita screamed in pain, but kept fighting.

Elita's swords were crossed against the man's long sword and they both stared into each others eyes. No movement was made. They both knew one would die that night, but they didn't know which one.

Elita jumped up and kicked the man back and he fell on top of a table that collapsed upon impact. He then staggered up and Elita threw one of her swords into his chest. He stood for a moment, blinking at the silver struck threw him, and then fell to the floor.

A bright flash erupted from where his dead body was, and after the flash he was there no more.

Elita went over and picked up her sword, stained with the man's blood. But she then noticed something else…a pendant. It had a skull on it with a serpent through it. She knew it was the Dark Lord Voldemort's mark. She placed the pendant in her pocket and took the others out the door before villagers came to see what was causing all the noise and disturbance.

They mounted on the Thestrals and took off immediately, flying back to the safety of Hogwarts. After they landed they went to Charlene and Eric's room, to look at the document.

Once inside Eric ran to get bandages for Charlene's hurt arm.

"When's the next full moon?" Ginny asked.

"In a week and a half," Hermione answered.

"So we have to wait until then, don't we?" Harry asked. Charlene nodded.

"What are we going to do until then?" Eric asked, coming back into the room and tending to Charlene's wound.

"I guess we'll just have to do whatever we can until," Charlene said.

"Halloween is in a week." Ron stated.

"And so is the ball. I haven't got a date," Ginny squealed.

"Good," Ron huffed. Ginny glared at him intently.

"We'll just have to research and train," Charlene said looking at Eric.

"Train? You're a great fighter. You were awesome. You don't need to train more," Eric told her.

"I still need to train. No warrior is ever good enough for no more training. Plus I know some simple spells, but not as many as I should to be doing this. I need to learn all I can."

"Oh, because you were doing such a horrible job back there, right?" Eric asked with humor in his voice.

"Oh, stop it!" Charlene said, throwing a pillow at him.

"Are you sure the stuff on the back can only be revealed by the full moon?" Ginny asked, ending their little fight.

"Yes. Nothing else can reveal it," Hermione answered her.

"Well, if you don't mind I need to go find a date for the dance," Ginny said getting up. She waved and went out the door.

"I haven't even thought about the dance. Who will want to go with me?" Ron said miserably.

"Come on, mate, there are a lot of girls who would want to go with you," Harry said, trying to cheer his best friend up.

"Oh well, I've got a whole week, don't I? I'm going. See you all later." Ron got up and left, Hermione also left shortly after him.

"Are you going to the dance, Charlene?" Harry asked when the two were alone after Eric went up to take a shower.

"Probably not." Charlene said and she could see the sadness that crept over Harry's face. "But I might show up for a few minutes. I need a dress, though."

"Oh, well, great. Maybe I'll see you there, then." Harry said. He left shortly after feeling a little better.

"Ah, nothing a hot shower can't fix," Eric said, sitting down next to Charlene a few minutes later. "He likes you, you know."

"Who?"

"Harry." Eric said with a chuckle.

"What?" Charlene asked, disbelievingly.

"He does. I can see it in his eyes."

"Oh, and jealous are you?" Charlene asked, batting her eyes.

"Of course. He's about to steal my number one girl." Eric said pulling her into a hug.

"Well, we can't have that happen."

"But if he really wants to ask you out he's got to have a talk with me first."

"He won't want to ask me out after a talk with you," Charlene said laughing.

"How do you know? You've never had a guy meet me before."

"I've just been too busy to bring any guys to meet you."

"Well, start now. You've never liked a guy before. And I can tell you have a crush on Harry. Deny it."

"Fine, but a crush isn't anything."

"It is for you. The girl who's too tough and strong to even have a relationship with a guy."

"I never said that."

"You implied it." Eric said.

"Come on. Let's just go waste time until next week."

"And what are we going to do?"

"Train."

Eric groaned and Charlene just pushed him out the door. _This is going to be a long week,_ she thought.

* * *

**End Note:** So this is where the story focuses more on the individual characters and their relationships, etc. There will be a few chapters with no action, just trying to get the week and a half through. 

**Next Chapter:**

Halloween and the Halloween Dance.

Charlene meets an old friend.


End file.
